Barbers, stylists, and other professionals in the cosmetology and hair care service business use a wide variety of manual and electrical tools during the course of the day. All equipment is generally restricted to a confined area, oftentimes a countertop or a cabinet with a limited workspace. Because of such space limitations, the electrical tools are hung on brackets or hooks with the cords connected at a power strip. Over the course of a workday, the cord can become entangled, twisted or pulled from the electrical outlet, or dislodged from the storage location and damaged. The cords are generally lengthy, contacting the dust and hair on the floor. To maintain an orderly and efficient work area, it is necessary throughout the day to disentangle and rearrange the cords for unimpeded access to the desired tool.
Recognizing the foregoing problems, a number of approaches for managing the cords of styling, drying and clipping tools used in the trade have been proposed. None, however, fully address the needs of the workplace and operator, and do not appear to be commercially available.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,903 to Smith discloses a custom enclosure having internal cord retractors, each of which has a power cord that is adapted for rewiring into existing barber clippers. In addition to being large and cumbersome for incorporation into most limited workspaces, the layout is not compatible with current hair styling equipment such as blowers, curling irons and the like. Further, the electrical approvals required for sale would not be satisfied by the generic proposal for interfacing with the existing barber tools. Each tool requires a defined termination to provide safe and dependable operation, including a strain relief at the tool inlet and terminations meshing with the internal hardware.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,121 to Raeford also discloses a custom housing having custom internal retractors. To overcome the above limitation on rewiring the appliance, the existing power cord plug is attached to a conventional electrical socket on the retractor. This presents problems when the tool cord is extended. If overextended, the cord is likely to separate from the socket, disabling the tool and requiring lengthy disassembly of the housing for reconnection. The apparatus would require approval before sale or use and is not known to be currently marketed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,156 to Smith discloses a wheeled cart having a cabinet provided with cord retractors that have conventional, axially separable plug and socket connections with the standard appliance cords. To provide for retraction of the standard appliance cord, the connection must be established in the tensioned state establishing an initial loading thereon promoting separation. In such state, inadvertent actuation of the retractor prior to connection can cause rotation to the retracted state thus frustrating operation until repair.
The foregoing limitations were effectively overcome the cosmetology work station disclosed in my copending application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/835,194 filed on Apr. 29, 2004 and entitled “Cord Organizer For Cosmetology Work Station”. Therein a method and apparatus were provided for controlling the cord lengths of appliances at a work station using approved and proven electrical and mechanical components that could be readily incorporated at existing locations with existing tools, allowing the extension and retraction of the power cords without risk of separation. There are instances in this field wherein physically altering the appliance cords is a disadvantage. The work force is somewhat fluid, with personnel changing employment over the course of their career and accordingly unwilling to effect a cord modification that might not be directly usable at the next site. Similarly, a location change within the existing site might not be able to accommodate the modified appliance.
Therefore, it would be desirable to retain the benefits of my prior apparatus while allowing personnel to use their appliances without modification. U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,952 to Randall discloses a housing with internal retractors having radial sockets into which the power cords are conventionally inserted. Randall, however, does not meet current regulatory requirements. First, prevailing regulations require that plug-in type connections cannot be enclosed or covered to avoid situations where the plug loosens from the receptacle. In Randall, the centripetal forces on the plug during winding creates such a separating potential, and resultant arcing and possible fire. Further, the cord should be visible in use and storage so that wear and tear can be assessed prior to shorting or other electrical failure. The Randall device establishes both the electrical connection and the retracted cord behind a cover assembly and thus at variance with regulations.